1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a two step link hood latch apparatus for vehicle, which opens a hood only with indoor manipulation.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicles have been recognized and developed as a mere transportation means or conveying equipments. However, due to the diverse consumer preferences, technological competition among vehicle manufacturers has been intensified to meet the various requirements.
Recently, vehicles have been evolving by putting more emphasis on the conveniences and services of a vehicle than on its appearance and design by developing control and convenience devices to provide more convenience for drivers.
A two step link hood latch apparatus has been developed to have more superior product competitiveness than other companies' products in the world market as well as the domestic market.
In general, since a hood has a two step locking structure using a safety hood, when a release lever is operated inside a vehicle in order to release a locked hood, a first step restraint is released with a cable operation, and then, a second step safety device for hood operation is prepared in order to open the hood with a safety lever's release after a user puts the hand in an engine room, standing in front of the vehicle.
This is provided for satisfying vehicle safety standard regulations. Accordingly, a firm hood latch apparatus needs to be installed at the hood of a vehicle, and also, the vehicle with a hood structure, in which the hood is opened/closed at the front direction and interferes with driver's visibility when the hood is opened during driving, is regulated with a two step locking or two spot locking structure.
FIG. 1 is an operational state view of a method of releasing a typical hood latch device. As shown in the first drawing, a hood striker 5 is double-locked by a claw 1 and a hook 2 in the initial state.
Then, as shown in the second drawing, when a driver operates a release lever disposed at the indoor driver's seat, a pawl 4 is pulled out in the arrow direction (→) of FIG. 1B and rotates, so that the restraint force applied to the claw 1 is released.
Then, as shown in the third drawing, as the claw 1 rotates, the striker 5 comes out from an insertion groove 1a of the claw 1 and thus the hood is slightly raised because a first lock state changes into a first open state.
Then, as shown in the drawing, when a driver steps out of a vehicle and then puts the hand inside the first opened hood and pushes the safety lever 3 toward the arrow direction of FIG. 1D, the hook 2 connected to the safety lever 3 rotates and the restraint force that holds the hood striker 5 is released, so that the hood changes from a secondary lock state into a secondary open state.
However, when a driver tries to open the hood, it is cumbersome and inconvenient for the driver to operate the release lever inside the vehicle in order to release the first lock, and then, step out of the vehicle in order to put the hand inside the hood and operate the safety lever 3.
Moreover, when a driver operates the release lever, the motion of the pawl 4 is directly passed to the driver through a cable, so that operability becomes poor.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.